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Skype Co-founder Visits Taiwanese Suppliers to Strengthen Partnerships(Taiwan Economic News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Taipei, March 10, 2006 (CENS)--Geoffery Prentice, a co-founder and director of Skype Technologies SA's new marketing division, arrived in Taiwan on March 8 to visit his company's partners on the island and assess the feasibility for Skype to open a testing and verification facility here The world's biggest supplier of Internet-telephone software currently has a number of contract suppliers in Taiwan. The suppliers include handset makers like Compal Communications Inc. and Inventec Appli@nce Corp; networking and telecommunications equipment suppliers such as GemTek Technology Co., Ltd., CyberTAN Technology Inc., and D-Link Corp.; as well as chip designers including Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. and Sunplus Technology Co., Ltd These Taiwanese suppliers control 90% of the world market for networking and telecommunications equipment used in personal computers Since Skype was established in 2003, the software developer has signed up more than 70 million users registering for its services at pace of 150,000 registrants per day. The amazing growth pace has outshone veteran Internet giants like eBAY, Yahoo!, and AOL Skype's major revenue earners include international settlement fees, calling cards and software-licensing royalties. Industry watchers have said that the company poses a formidable threat to traditional telecom-service providers that depend on conventional telephone protocols for voice communications because of Skype's sizable customer base and much lower connection fees With new Internet-telephone gear like headset microphones, wireless phones, and USB phones now hitting the market, the business opportunities for companies seeking to capitalize on Skype's services are rapidly growing Taiwanese equipment suppliers had complained to Skype about its choppy licensing operations until recently, a problem that was rectified when the company poached a former Microsoft officer to improve its operations here At the request of Taiwanese suppliers, the company will hold a technology forum, dubbed "Skype Day Taiwan", in the middle of this year, and it will also consider the possibility of opening a verification and testing center in Taiwan. |